A few days ago, in our ongoing search for the person responsible for offering Rep. Nick Smith (R-Mich.) a bribe in exchange for his vote on the Medicare bill, we went through some of the usual suspects.
A case could be made that House Speaker Dennis Hastert, Majority Leader Tom DeLay, or HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson (or some combination therein) played a role. But for every compelling reason to suspect one of these three, there’s an equally compelling reason to believe the culprit lies elsewhere.
Fortunately, Hesiod at Counterspin uncovered a new suspect: Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Mich.).
First, Hesiod points to a Michigan Daily report from earlier this week that notes, “Michigan Democrats said they suspect Republican congressmen — including a high-ranking Michigan representative — of pledging $100,000 to the campaign in exchange for the elder Smith’s ‘yes’ vote on the bill.”
Rogers would certainly fit into that category. He backed the Medicare bill and he’s the most powerful of the Republicans in the Michigan delegation.
But what about the rest of the criteria that we’re aware of? Smith told the AP that “House GOP leaders” were responsible for the bribe offer. Smith has also ruled out Hastert and DeLay specifically. That does narrow things down quite a bit.
Would Rogers qualify as a House GOP “leader”? Arguably, yes. Of course, Rogers is not among the House majority’s Top 4: Speaker Hastert, Majority Leader DeLay, Majority Whip Roy Blunt, and Chief Deputy Majority Whip Eric Cantor.
That said, Rogers may qualify as a GOP “leader,” especially as far as Nick Smith would be concerned.
Specifically, Hesiod linked to a Lansing State Journal article that explains Rogers’ three key leadership positions in the House:
* Rogers is a member of the Republican whip team that rounds up votes and helps shape legislation.
* He’s a deputy whip in charge of persuading Washington lobbyists for interest groups to convey Republican leaders’ opinions to rank-and-file members of Congress.
* He’s the finance chairman for the National Republican Congressional Committee, which works to elect Republicans to the House.
Considering these three roles, Rogers starts to appear like the logical choice to approach Smith on the House floor and apply pressure before the vote, particularly regarding Smith’s son’s future House campaign.
Did Rogers offer Smith the bribe? Maybe the Justice Department should pay Rogers a visit and find out.